Hello, my name is Joseph Brayshaw. I go to Nagel Middle School and live in Cincinnati, Ohio. Right now at Nagel, we are doing a Social Studies project in which we must solve an Ancient Roman problem, and my problem is overpopulation. I was looking to seek your advice on some questions I had and I would love to hear from you. My questions are:
-Could you interpret how the downfall of Rome was significantly affected by overpopulation?
-If you were a Roman, what laws would you put in place to humanely control birth rate?
-What other ways could the downfall of Rome be interpreted in relation to overpopulation and disease?
-Do you feel that the control of birth rates or the amount of children someone can have is acceptable?
Thank you so much for your time!
Sincerely, Joseph Brayshaw The Response I got from Mr. Rosenstein: Deear Joseph,
If you mean the fall of Rome in the 5th Century AD, the overpopulation had nothing to do with it. In ths era, the empire was probably suffering from population shrinkage because of the effects of the plague that broke out during the rein of Marcus Aurelius in the late second century AD.
Under ancient conditions there was little or nothing a law could do to control the birth rate. Medical knowledge was very poor, so no matter what laws were passed, the only way to check fertility was celibacy, which is very difficult to enforce.
Disease is another matter. Plague is thought to have devastated the populations of Roman cities with serious effects on the economy. This probably had serious consequences for the Roman government when it had to confront a military crisis in the third century and occasional emergencies thereafter.
Personally, yes, population control is acceptable if the situation is dire and it is done in a humane manner. But knowing when the situation is dire enough and how to do so humanely are both very difficult to determine
I hope this helps,
N. Rosenstein
Dear Mr. Beisner,
Hi, my name is Joseph Brayshaw. I go to Nagel Middle School and live in Cincinnati, Ohio. Right now at Nagel, we are doing a Social Studies project in which we must solve an Ancient Roman problem, and my problem is overpopulation. I was looking to seek your advice on some questions I had and I would love to hear from you. My questions are:
-Could you compare and contrast the spread of disease in an overpopulated city to an averagely populated city.
-What occurs when there isn’t significant sanitation at the poverty line?
-What would you do to solve the problem of the spread of disease at the poverty line?
Grace and peace to you in Christ. Thank you for inquiring. I wish I could take the time to give you detailed responses to your questions, but it's simply not possible. However, I can give you a few general thoughts:
1. "Overpopulation" is a myth--always has been, always will be. It has never been, and can never be, defined by truly demographic (counting people) criteria: not population density, not population growth rate, not age distribution. This is why those who warn of "overpopulation" will call a region like sub-Saharan Africa, with only about 36 people per square mile, "overpopulated," but not Western Europe, with over 300 people per square mile. The real ground for belief in "overpopulation" is racism: the people in sub-Saharan Africa (and other places called "overpopulated") are the wrong color--not nice white Europeans like "us." This has deep roots in history from Thomas Robert Malthus's ESSAY ON THE PRINCIPLE OF POPULATION (1798) through Darwin's ORIGIN OF SPECIES (1859) through Francis Galton's HUMAN FACULTY AND ITS DEVELOPMENT (1883), and more. Seehttp://www.cornwallalliance.org/blog/item/putting-together-the-pieces-in-the-spiritual-world-war/. Why is India "overpopulated" with about 600 people per square mile but not the Netherlands with about 1,300 per square mile or Manhattan with over 60,000 per square mile?
2. Problems generally associated with what some people think is "overpopulation" (especially disease, homelessness, and crime) are actually problems of poverty, and they exist at about the same rates among the poor regardless of population density.
3. Fears of "overpopulation" stem primarily from an unbiblical understanding of the nature of man and his relationship with the world. Environmentalists and other population fear-mongers see people as fundamentally consumers (using up Earth's resources) and polluters (poisoning Earth in the process). The Bible says we're created in God's image to be creators (not from nothing, as God is, but getting more and more from less and less) and stewards (subduing and ruling the Earth to make it increasingly fruitful, safe, and beautiful, to the glory of God and the benefit of our neighbors). Our fall into sin of course means we often don't do those things well, but God's common grace (giving to all men basic intelligence and the instinctual desire to thrive and cooperate) and His special grace (saving some through Christ, restoring the image of God in them, and giving them increasing understanding of His world) have meant that through time we've become better and better at making more and more with less and less, actually increasing Earth's resources and at the very same time improving its fruitfulness, safety, and beauty.
4. Because people tend to produce more when they work in cooperation, and because cooperation increases relative to population density, higher-density areas tend (other factors being comparable) to be more productive, and therefore wealthier, than lower-density areas--in particular, cities tend to be far more productive per person than rural areas. Consequently, since the maladies people usually associate with "overpopulation" are actually the maladies of poverty, rising population density actually leads to reduced poverty and therefore to the reduction of the maladies wrongly associated with "overpopulation." An excellent book on this is Edward Glaeser's Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier.
For much more help understanding these issues, see my book Prospects for Growth: A Biblical View of Population, Resources, and the Future (1988), which, though out of print, is still somewhat available in used copies online; go to www.Bookfinder.com to find the best prices. For additional help, see Julian Simon's The Ultimate Resource 2.
See a few specific comments interspersed with your questions below.
In Christ,
Cal
E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D., Author and Lecturer; www.ECalvinBeisner.com; cell: 954-547-5370
Founder and National Spokesman, Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation www.CornwallAlliance.org, a non-profit Christian religious, charitable, and educational organization
Dear Mr. Beisner,
Hi, my name is Joseph Brayshaw. I go to Nagel Middle School and live in Cincinnati, Ohio. Right now at Nagel, we are doing a Social Studies project in which we must solve an Ancient Roman problem, and my problem is overpopulation. I was looking to seek your advice on some questions I had and I would love to hear from you. My questions are:
-Could you compare and contrast the spread of disease in an overpopulated city to an averagely populated city.
Spread of disease varies not with population density but with poverty.
-What occurs when there isn’t significant sanitation at the poverty line?
Lack of sanitation causes disease, and since poverty causes lack of sanitation, poverty causes disease. I.e., poverty, lack of sanitation, and disease correlate positively.
-What would you do to solve the problem of the spread of disease at the poverty line?
Provide the conditions for economic development so that people overcome their poverty. Best introductory book on that is Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett's When Helping Hurts. One important point: the solution is not to give poor communities lots of things--that only perpetuates their poverty. Instead, they need the institutions of private property recognized through legal titles so that they can use their property as leverage to gather the capital they need to acquire tools and buildings, etc., that will enable them to produce more wealth per hour of labor. But much more is necessary, too--the moral culture of honesty, hard work, respect for private property, cooperation, liberty, and so on. See my book Prosperity and Poverty: The Compassionate Use of Resources in a World of Scarcity (available at www.ECalvinBeisner.com) for a general introduction to economics from a Biblical worldview perspective that concludes with three chapters on the nature, causes, and cure of poverty.
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This is my Google Docs researchOur Project:
My Emails to Experts:
Dear Ms. Sessa or Mr. Rosenstein,
Hello, my name is Joseph Brayshaw. I go to Nagel Middle School and live in Cincinnati, Ohio. Right now at Nagel, we are doing a Social Studies project in which we must solve an Ancient Roman problem, and my problem is overpopulation. I was looking to seek your advice on some questions I had and I would love to hear from you. My questions are:
-Could you interpret how the downfall of Rome was significantly affected by overpopulation?
-If you were a Roman, what laws would you put in place to humanely control birth rate?
-What other ways could the downfall of Rome be interpreted in relation to overpopulation and disease?
-Do you feel that the control of birth rates or the amount of children someone can have is acceptable?
Thank you so much for your time!
Sincerely,
Joseph Brayshaw
The Response I got from Mr. Rosenstein:
Deear Joseph,
If you mean the fall of Rome in the 5th Century AD, the overpopulation had nothing to do with it. In ths era, the empire was probably suffering from population shrinkage because of the effects of the plague that broke out during the rein of Marcus Aurelius in the late second century AD.
Under ancient conditions there was little or nothing a law could do to control the birth rate. Medical knowledge was very poor, so no matter what laws were passed, the only way to check fertility was celibacy, which is very difficult to enforce.
Disease is another matter. Plague is thought to have devastated the populations of Roman cities with serious effects on the economy. This probably had serious consequences for the Roman government when it had to confront a military crisis in the third century and occasional emergencies thereafter.
Personally, yes, population control is acceptable if the situation is dire and it is done in a humane manner. But knowing when the situation is dire enough and how to do so humanely are both very difficult to determine
I hope this helps,
N. Rosenstein
Dear Mr. Beisner,
Hi, my name is Joseph Brayshaw. I go to Nagel Middle School and live in Cincinnati, Ohio. Right now at Nagel, we are doing a Social Studies project in which we must solve an Ancient Roman problem, and my problem is overpopulation. I was looking to seek your advice on some questions I had and I would love to hear from you. My questions are:
-Could you compare and contrast the spread of disease in an overpopulated city to an averagely populated city.
-What occurs when there isn’t significant sanitation at the poverty line?
-What would you do to solve the problem of the spread of disease at the poverty line?
Thank you so much for your time!
Sincerely,Joseph BrayshawHis response:
Dear Joseph,
Grace and peace to you in Christ. Thank you for inquiring. I wish I could take the time to give you detailed responses to your questions, but it's simply not possible. However, I can give you a few general thoughts:
1. "Overpopulation" is a myth--always has been, always will be. It has never been, and can never be, defined by truly demographic (counting people) criteria: not population density, not population growth rate, not age distribution. This is why those who warn of "overpopulation" will call a region like sub-Saharan Africa, with only about 36 people per square mile, "overpopulated," but not Western Europe, with over 300 people per square mile. The real ground for belief in "overpopulation" is racism: the people in sub-Saharan Africa (and other places called "overpopulated") are the wrong color--not nice white Europeans like "us." This has deep roots in history from Thomas Robert Malthus's ESSAY ON THE PRINCIPLE OF POPULATION (1798) through Darwin's ORIGIN OF SPECIES (1859) through Francis Galton's HUMAN FACULTY AND ITS DEVELOPMENT (1883), and more. Seehttp://www.cornwallalliance.org/blog/item/putting-together-the-pieces-in-the-spiritual-world-war/. Why is India "overpopulated" with about 600 people per square mile but not the Netherlands with about 1,300 per square mile or Manhattan with over 60,000 per square mile?
2. Problems generally associated with what some people think is "overpopulation" (especially disease, homelessness, and crime) are actually problems of poverty, and they exist at about the same rates among the poor regardless of population density.
3. Fears of "overpopulation" stem primarily from an unbiblical understanding of the nature of man and his relationship with the world. Environmentalists and other population fear-mongers see people as fundamentally consumers (using up Earth's resources) and polluters (poisoning Earth in the process). The Bible says we're created in God's image to be creators (not from nothing, as God is, but getting more and more from less and less) and stewards (subduing and ruling the Earth to make it increasingly fruitful, safe, and beautiful, to the glory of God and the benefit of our neighbors). Our fall into sin of course means we often don't do those things well, but God's common grace (giving to all men basic intelligence and the instinctual desire to thrive and cooperate) and His special grace (saving some through Christ, restoring the image of God in them, and giving them increasing understanding of His world) have meant that through time we've become better and better at making more and more with less and less, actually increasing Earth's resources and at the very same time improving its fruitfulness, safety, and beauty.
4. Because people tend to produce more when they work in cooperation, and because cooperation increases relative to population density, higher-density areas tend (other factors being comparable) to be more productive, and therefore wealthier, than lower-density areas--in particular, cities tend to be far more productive per person than rural areas. Consequently, since the maladies people usually associate with "overpopulation" are actually the maladies of poverty, rising population density actually leads to reduced poverty and therefore to the reduction of the maladies wrongly associated with "overpopulation." An excellent book on this is Edward Glaeser's Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier.
For much more help understanding these issues, see my book Prospects for Growth: A Biblical View of Population, Resources, and the Future (1988), which, though out of print, is still somewhat available in used copies online; go to www.Bookfinder.com to find the best prices. For additional help, see Julian Simon's The Ultimate Resource 2.
See a few specific comments interspersed with your questions below.
In Christ,
Cal
E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D., Author and Lecturer; www.ECalvinBeisner.com; cell: 954-547-5370
Founder and National Spokesman, Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation
www.CornwallAlliance.org, a non-profit Christian religious, charitable, and educational organization
Spread of disease varies not with population density but with poverty.
Lack of sanitation causes disease, and since poverty causes lack of sanitation, poverty causes disease. I.e., poverty, lack of sanitation, and disease correlate positively.
Provide the conditions for economic development so that people overcome their poverty. Best introductory book on that is Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett's When Helping Hurts. One important point: the solution is not to give poor communities lots of things--that only perpetuates their poverty. Instead, they need the institutions of private property recognized through legal titles so that they can use their property as leverage to gather the capital they need to acquire tools and buildings, etc., that will enable them to produce more wealth per hour of labor. But much more is necessary, too--the moral culture of honesty, hard work, respect for private property, cooperation, liberty, and so on. See my book Prosperity and Poverty: The Compassionate Use of Resources in a World of Scarcity (available at www.ECalvinBeisner.com) for a general introduction to economics from a Biblical worldview perspective that concludes with three chapters on the nature, causes, and cure of poverty.